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Winds toss tiniest creatures

No one orders evacuations for the state's abundant animals, but some displaced critters get help from humans.

TAMPA - They were flung out of their beds, 15 feet to the ground.

Some likely drowned crawling to safety.

Others huddled and clung to chain-link fences in a frantic escape from rising waters.

Florida's wildlife has struggled mightily to cope with the furious winds and relentless rains of Hurricane Frances.

But aside from scores of suffering creatures - from baby squirrels to gopher tortoises to fire ants - the long-term broader effect of hurricanes on wildlife is actually a good one, experts say.

"It's all part of nature's way of rejuvenating habitat," said Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

That could change, he said. Development is cutting wildlife habitat into smaller pieces. The result: In a hurricane, some animals can be trapped on their small tract. If a species gets killed, other animals can't reach the isolated habitat to repopulate it.

"There's still plenty of high ground," Morse said. "But that may not be the case shortly if development spreads throughout our state."

At the moment, though, humans are doing whatever it takes to protect their smaller brethren in crisis - even if that means feeding them from the mouth.

They had been blown out of the oak trees, said Bethany Flores this week.

She reached to the floor and lifted a Route 66 men's shoe box holding her refugees from Frances, setting it lightly on top of her desk at Mercantile Bank in Tampa.

Peeling back a white shirt over the box, she revealed what she'd been showing curious customers throughout the day: three finger-sized pink bodies. Baby squirrels.

"One died. There were three left," she said. Her husband found them Saturday on the ground while boarding up the home of an elderly neighbor on their Temple Terrace block.

Even though Frances had yet to pass, the wind tossed them out of their nests in 15-foot trees.

Residents throughout the Tampa area made similar discoveries over the past week, swamping local veterinary offices and wildlife rehabilitators with calls and visits. The storm arrived at the height of squirrel nesting season.

Flores swept up the baby squirrels and put them in a shoe box with some rags next to a heating lamp.

A neighbor let her borrow some lactose-free milk. She started the first of many feedings.

"Everybody here loves them . . . except David," she said, grinning and nodding toward a co-worker who said he prefers his animals domesticated.

Sitting in front of her computer with the shoe box placed among bank paperwork, Flores picked up one of the tiny pink bodies and put the bottle's nipple to its mouth.

"Come here, baby, let me see," she cooed. "Want to eat some more?"

Experts say residents should try to bring displaced animals to professionals or consult with them as soon as possible.

Possession and rehabilitation of birds requires a permit. And a baby squirrel's intake of milk replacement is based on its weight.

"People are raking their leaves and stuff and finding (baby squirrels) in the yard," said Jodee Lambert, veterinary technician with Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Services in Largo. "We had 30 brought in over two days."

Keep them warm until you can get them to an expert, she advised.

Wildlife experts are concerned about a host of other animals, including sea turtles.

"Our biggest fears are that the nests are washed away," said Allison Bozarth of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Other creatures are forced to make do on their own.

A fire ant colony will cluster in a ball at flood time, seeking higher ground. And alligators, like most large wildlife, instinctively seek the most protected areas of their habitat, but they could show up where you haven't seen them before.

Scientists aren't sure what manatees do during hurricanes, though evidence shows they likely just follow the flow of water. Bobcats and hogs run or swim to drier habitats.

The problem, Morse said, is Florida's fragmented habitat.

"They are pretty much doomed to extinction in that spot, whether from disease or in this case flooding," he said.

For instance, some gopher tortoises would drown before they could outcrawl floodwaters, he said.

But on a 15,000-acre tract, some of the tortoises will find dry ground and survive. They can repopulate and replace the tortoises that die.

But if that tract is only 70 to 100 acres, all the gopher tortoises could be wiped out, he said, with no replacement.

For now, hurricanes benefit wildlife as a whole, he said. They rejuvenate forests and woods that had begun to support only one or two species.

"It gets sunlight to the floor. The trees rot and fertilize the soil," he said.

In the meantime, humans are trying to help.

Debbie Bond's phone has been ringing off the hook. She's a licensed wildlife rehabilitator in Tampa who has taken in about 25 baby squirrels.

"People have been so desperate because of the hurricane, and they feel so bad for these little animals and their plight," she said.

Orlando Nieves, visiting from Virginia, was one who called. His mother's neighbor, near Fowler Avenue and 17th Street, found a baby bird on her porch this week after the storm. She called over for Nieves.

Nieves, 37, with a soft spot for animals, called the Humane Society. After eight more calls, he tried to feed the bird.

"I tried to chew the ham" and feed it from his mouth, he said.

"It pecked me a few times, but it wouldn't eat," he said. It finally ate from an eyedropper. Nieves reached Bond, who took the bird, which turned out to be a dove - whose symbolism wasn't lost on Nieves.

"I'm from a very religious family," he said. "That's the bird that Noah sent out to bring back (twigs) to show the water was receding."

Then he remembered: "But Ivan is coming."

- Staff writer Jay Cridlin contributed to this report.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: toll-free 1-888-404-3922

Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Services: 1501 S Belcher Road, Largo, (727) 531-5752

14923 N Florida Ave., Tampa, (813) 265-4043

SPCA of Pinellas: (727) 586-3591.

Because of cleanup from Hurricanes Charley and Frances and the uncertain path of Hurricane Ivan, the Poynter Institute has canceled the "Conversation With William Raspberry," scheduled for today. The discussion might be rescheduled, but those who have tickets for today's appearance will automatically receive refunds within 30 days. For information, e-mail development@poynter.org or call 727 821-9494.